A/N: I now would like to formally present to you the next arc of A Different Kind of Torture: The University Arc! *squeals*
*coughs* Here's the 14th chapter, yay!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Karma
It was supposed to be a fine day.
A day of new beginnings, of new hope.
Of change.
But sometimes, no matter how constant change is, it sometimes goes on vacation just to fuck a person up.
And one of those unfortunate souls includes, sadly, Aki.
"FWCK FWUK FWUK FWY FWVH VHLL FM FWY FHUPPVSD TWU VI FWTE FNW, FUF FOLL FYMS? FWY? (FUCK FUCK FUCK WHY THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO BE LATE NOW, OF ALL TIMES? WHY?)" Aki groaned as she ran out the door, a big bar of chocolate in her mouth.
As she zoomed out of the house, Feitan, on the other hand, glared at the girl's noisiness as she hysterically shouted about.
And when she does that in the morning, it simply means no food for today for Feitan.
Which now makes him a pissed off person as well in the morning.
He groaned in irritation as he had to get up, go to the kitchen, and make do with his own breakfast for now— cereal.
And how he hated cereal.
For him, cereals were sweet, unsatisfying, and sweet.
And too small for his normal consumption of food.
He glared at the poor cereal box, mentally cursing it for being such an inadequate source of food.
As he started to sit down and ungratefully eat the said meal, his thoughts briefly wandered towards Aki and her lateness.
That girl had a tendency to be late, he thought.
Since her last few months of high school, there were about three to four times a week wherein Aki was barely on time, or worse, late for class.
It even got to the point when Aki would make breakfast at night, only to have him reheat them in the morning.
Of course, those occasions only happened whenever he physically threatened the safety of her arms.
Or legs.
Or worse, his threat to never teach her the way of the sword ever again.
Seeing Aki's problematic face was a prize though, whenever he threatened her; he snickered at the thought.
After mindless wandering, his subconscious then moved on to about how he already got used to living with her.
It seemed strange, he thought as he glumly ate his cereal; he used to only be at ease in being with the troupe.
So why is he feeling comfortable with Aki now?
As much as he hated to admit it, his mind subconsciously lowers his guard as long as he was 'home'— or more precisely, in Aki's home.
He also didn't seem to mind whenever the girl was present, as opposed to the first few weeks of their meetings.
Thinking about it, he never got close to any other person aside from the troupe, so why now?
Feitan thoroughly assessed himself, even coming to the point of accusing himself of being 'changed' or 'brainwashed' by the current world he was living in.
He even thought of whether he should revert back to being to his old, cold self.
Old self… since when had he changed? He thought.
Did he actually change without himself being fully aware of it?
...
Aki was neither his friend nor his comrade.
She was not a member of Genei Ryodan.
'So why now?' he thought, as multiple questions came to his mind all at once.
He was frustrated at why his feelings couldn't deny the fact that somehow, trust was ensued between him and the girl.
He cringed in disgust at these human emotions: how a person tends to trust another once ample time and companionship has been spent with them; it all bores down to companionship.
He thought that maybe relationships are fostered the more time you spend with them, or how often you see them strengthens or encourages trust.
Something he wished he didn't have.
He narrowed his eyes at his frustrations as he put his dishes in the dishwasher and headed for the living room to take out a Trevor Brown book, which was hidden deep within the recesses of the sofa.
Yes, sofa.
He skimmed through the pages as he was fascinated at the sights he was seeing, he ought to try these methods of torture to someone once sometime, he thought.
He forcefully tried to zone out the thoughts and inner conflicts his mind was having right now; he couldn't think clearly due to the confusion he is currently feeling.
This must be what it feels like to feel or experience something for the first time, he thought.
'I need to let out some steam. It's been a while since I last kill.' He thought, as he finally gave up using the book as some sort of diversion and decided to go out for once and find a new plaything to torture out in the streets.
"Excuse me Aki-chan, but what? You're late? AND LOST?!" Momo's voice echoed through the phone.
Cold sweat trickled down Aki's forehead as she frantically darted here and there, attempting to find the so-called "Science Department" which was surprisingly, seemingly was impossible to find at the moment.
"YES! Help me, Momo-chan! I don't know where the Science Department is." 'Well, I could have found it somehow if only I arrived earlier. Fucking timing.' She silently added.
Aki heard her best friend sigh deeply, obviously stressed out at her current predicament.
"Where are you now, exactly?"
"Etou~" Aki mused as she briefly stopped and looked around her; her surroundings seemed to be full of paintings and sculptures at each end of the hallways.
In short, it looked like a museum.
She scratched the back of her head, her ears starting to redden in embarrassment as soon as she was able to realize where she was exactly.
"Well?"
"Erm… I think I seem to be in a museum or something….Oh. Hah. Ha ha. Stupid me."
Momo let out another deep sigh; Aki could almost imagine Momo rubbing her temples in frustration.
"Aki-chan… You're currently in the ART Department. The Science Department is on the other end of the University, in short… on the other side of where you are right now."
"Oh…"
"Answer me please, Aki-chan… BUT HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THERE?!"
Aki literally put the phone away from her ear the moment Momo spoke once again, anticipating the possibility of her screaming hysterically— typical Momo.
As soon as her best friend calmed down, she put the phone back into her ear and spoke. "Err well thanks anyway, Momo-chan. I think you're having classes right now, huh? Thank you anyway I think I gotta go bye!"
"No Aki-chan. Wait where are you—"
Beep.
'There, problem solved.' She thought, as she attempted to stretch her legs before running another marathon. Somehow, she partly felt guilty for hanging up on Momo deliberately, but then again, she was late, and she needed to get on with moving towards the direction of her destination.
She wouldn't be able to properly run and focus if Momo was screaming into her ear, she thought.
After doing some warm-up stretches, she started to sprint towards the Science Department. It was actually a good thing that she had her hair up right now, and that she wore some Converse, black skinny jeans, and a band shirt, her backpack slung over her shoulder.
If she was wearing any other type of clothing— girly clothing for that matter, there was no way that she would be able to run and dart around places, she thought.
As she was running, she briefly thought about Feitan's state; she wasn't able to make breakfast this time around again.
'Oh well, he's a big boy now. He can surely fend for himself. Heck, there's this gut feeling of mine telling me that he's even older than me.' She smugly thought as she turned around a corner.
Speaking of Feitan, she wondered at how comfortable the man was with her now— well, as opposed to their first few meetings together.
Somehow, she thought, that maybe Feitan actually opened up and accepted her. Maybe he was left with no choice but to adapt and get along with her.
'No wait, scratch that. Get along? Up until now he still comes up with means to make my life a living hell.'
Oh yes, despite the somewhat positive change that seemed to be forming between them, Feitan never stopped his hobby of 'torturing' the girl in every way he could.
Such as hiding her katana on the rooftop one time she was stubborn enough to not immediately pick-up a certain technique he was trying to teach her.
She actually almost fractured her leg by climbing the roof alone, if only Momo didn't arrive to do one of her 'surprise-check-ups-on-Aki-to-make-sure-she's-still-alive-and-pure' and went up to get the katana herself, simultaneously attempting to murder Feitan in the process by throwing rocks she picked up on the way to Aki's home.
'Feh. Time to put the bastard out of my mind. At least for now my life is spared from him killing me… despite the fact that we haven't got a move on to how I could be able to help him get back to wherever he is.'
She actually tried to help with other means, aside from using the library in her old school. She tried to book plane tickets and search online for this 'Yorkshin' city Feitan once spoke of, but alas, to no avail.
She cringed at the thought of her failure.
But then again, at least she wasn't alone at home and had someone to keep her company, no matter how 'shitty' her companion's personality and attitude was.
Finally diverting her attention to her current dilemma, Aki looked at her watch. 10 AM, she thought.
'Crap. Don't tell me that I've already been wasting two hours of my supposed class?!'
Aki entered a building labeled, "Science Department", and hastily located her classroom number, entering it unannounced, the door sliding with a bang.
"So, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs—"
The rows of students, as well as the professor stopped discussing, startled, and looked at her in surprise, some guys at the back snickering at her.
Aki immediately stopped and wished that the ground would just suck her alive.
She scratched the back of her head and held a sheepish smile.
"Er… Uh, sorry I'm late?"
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Florence Nightingale.
Lydia Hall.
Self-Care Deficit.
Continuum.
Fundamentals of Care.
Aki's mind swirled around with information overload; it was her first time to have her brain crammed up with all sorts of knowledge.
Knowledge by which she realized she hated after all.
"Fuck this. I knew I should have taken up Fine Arts or Music instead." She groaned as she somewhat staggered her way towards home. She was actually supposed to meet up with Momo today, but then again, the girl was busy with her own classes. An Accounting and Business course was no joke whenever it came to Momo, no matter how happy-go-lucky she seemed to be.
Aki, on the other hand, was now on the verge of giving up.
And this was just her first day of classes.
'Remind me why I took up this course again?' she grimly thought as different parts of the body suddenly flashed before her eyes, causing her to cringe.
Who the heck teaches anatomy and physiology on your first day, she thought.
Wasn't that supposed to actually be taught a few months after?
'Well apparently that doesn't happen in Tokyo U, you moronic mind.'
She sighed as she entered the convenience store situated near her home to stock up on tons of chocolate— she would be cramming herself today.
If she wanted to stay intact in her chosen field of study, she would have to study ahead of time, since her classmates seemed to be knowledgeable in their subjects, making her seem like the odd one out.
To think that Aki actually hated cramming, or studying for that matter.
Especially if the subjects she was supposed to study were her least favorites, or rather, subjects she'd prefer to never take up her whole life.
But then again, because of her so-called 'change for the better', she decided to do it the hard way— starting from embracing something she totally hates to the core.
"Okay… Pocky, Pocky, Pocky, oh. Dars chocolate. And Meiji. Okay, Chocolates, done. Now time to head for the lollipops and candies section." She mused as she held up her basket halfway full with sweets.
'Should I buy something for the jerk? Maybe if I do some good deed today, my Karma will increase and I'll get better luck in studying and surviving this hellish course.' She thought, as she eyed a big bag of Chocolate chips shaped into medium-sized nyan cats.
Nyan Cats and Feitan.
Pfft, she thought. She wasn't even sure if the guy would eat it, considering how all cutesy and adorable a nyan cat looked like.
'Feh. Besides, if he does actually turn out to hate it, then I can have these babies to myself. It's a win-win situation for me!' she smirked, adding the said bag to her basket.
After paying for her 'groceries', she proceeded to come home, speeding up a little after realizing that she still had to make dinner.
Aki was busy thinking about what to cook for tonight when she opened the door. As soon as she entered, however, she was surprised to find the house dark and without the lights on.
"Eh, that's odd. I'm sure that Feitan almost never leaves the house." She thought out loud as she groped her way towards the light switch.
As soon as the house was finally illuminated, she shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to bring her groceries to the kitchen, taking out the necessary ingredients for dinner in the process.
Her mind briefly wandered again towards Feitan, and wondered as to where he might be at this hour.
But then again, it's not as if he was her responsibility, she thought. He was only a freeloader, so it was of no concern to her where he went.
She rolled her eyes in frustration.
'I think I must be getting attached. I sometimes honestly hate this side of me.'
Crack.
Splatter.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
It was never enough for Feitan. If there was one thing he loved aside from reading Trevor Brown books, it would be killing.
And torturing his victims in the process.
He tossed away a deformed arm towards the bin in a bored manner, feeling dissatisfied at his current victim's parting response.
He actually died before he even got the chance to torture him. Cause of death: cardiac arrest.
His eyes twitched in disgust at the man's pathetic sight; his arms and legs were dismembered, the muscles and tissues hanging from the bones, while the rest of his body was currently in rigor mortis. Feitan was disappointed that he wasn't even able to at least hear a shrill scream come out of him. In the end, all he was able to do was to dissect his body and recall his knowledge regarding the different pressure points and areas that could cause the most pain.
'Feh. No fun. No pleasure.' He thought as he glared at the dead man's now, unidentifiable body, his face contorted in pain, eyes wide, and his tongue protruding out of his mouth due to a preceding shock.
He crouched down and decided to carve out the man's chest and take out his heart, just for fun.
Speaking of fun, he could actually bring this heart home and use it to scare Aki, he thought.
Feitan snickered as he expertly sliced the man's chest and neatly cut the arteries and veins, abducting the heart from its rightful place.
After taking out the heart, which still had blood intact, he tore off a portion of the man's clothes and wrapped it around the heart, so as to prevent blood from further dripping down and staining his clothes.
It was actually a good thing that he always wore black; any trace of blood was camouflaged by the darkness of the clothes he wears.
He swiftly stood up and jumped from the broken window of the abandoned building he was currently in— in other words, from the abandoned hospital he found out some time ago.
Feitan made it a point to commit his own personal murderous pleasures in the said building to attract less attention, considering how the area surrounding it was deserted.
And at the moment, it was currently working. So far, his face hasn't been plastered as "WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE" on the walls of the city, as opposed to how it was in his own world.
Ah, the world where his comrades were, he thought. Sometimes he actually hated it whenever he remembered his frustrations regarding how to get back home.
He tried doing everything he could at the moment to gain at least some information regarding Nen, or anything remotely close as to how to at least travel towards his destination, but to no avail.
He also knew that Aki was actually helping him in the background, despite the fact that she never announces doing so; he once caught her shouting profanities at her laptop screen for being 'stupid' in failing to help her locate 'Yorkshin City', or at least get some plane tickets for Feitan to help him get there with ease.
He somewhat smirked at the thought— the girl seemed stupid enough to fail to realize that Yorkshin City actually never existed here, in this dimension for that matter.
'She such a dense girl. Indeed stupid.' He mockingly thought as he sped towards home, passing through the trees in a blur.
One way or another, Feitan felt quite good at the moment, all signs of awkwardness and confusion towards Aki gone.
Maybe all he needed was a little time allotted for torturing other people— his own personal form of fun and play.
In all honesty, Aki actually wasn't the only one who was deprived of luck at this particular day, or rather, night.
Sometimes, as they say, bad luck can be quite contagious.
Too bad Feitan somehow had it too.
As soon as he entered the house, the first thing that came into his mind was food.
Yes, food.
He briefly forgot his original intent as he zoomed towards the kitchen, delighted to see that there was a platter of tempura waiting for him, neatly placed under a food cover.
'Stupid girl sometimes not stupid after all' he smugly thought as he was about to sit down and dig in, only to abruptly stop after realizing that he still reeked of iron and blood, not to mention the torn-out heart he was currently holding, covered by a now some-what bloody cloth.
He narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he proceeded to go towards his original destination: Aki's room.
He silently ascended the stairs and quietly entered her room, only to be surprised at how Aki's head was slumped on the desk, seemingly asleep.
He slowly neared the girl and was even more surprised at what the girl was so busy reading that she actually fell asleep.
An anatomy book.
Anatomy and Physiology to be exact.
His eyes interestingly scanned the book, and was somewhat pleased to know that the girl actually had an interest in the human body, specifically its parts and the way it functions.
If only he knew the real reason why.
He briefly glanced at the girl who was peacefully sleeping, her breaths inhaling and exhaling rhythmically in an even manner.
Up close, he realized that the girl somewhat looked like a doll; her nose was small and pointy, her lips were full and plump, and she had long lashes.
She looked like a girl perfect for one of his torture sessions.
Believe it or not, but sometimes, Feitan had his own preferences on who to torture and kill. There would be times that he'd just grab anyone who was currently available, convenience sampling, as he would call it. On other times, he decides to be picky and only chooses to kill people who looked like dolls— kids, females, males, anyone was fine as long as they resembled a doll.
He sometimes referred to them as "beautiful murders"— murders that were carefully planned out and laid out to him in a beautiful manner, by which the bloody splatters from his victims made it all the more alluring-looking.
On rare occasions, he even patterned his torturous killings from Trevor Brown's illustrations.
As he unconsciously stared at the girl, he thought only about one thing.
He wanted to break her.
He wanted to break her so badly and see her scream in agony as he teared off that precious skin from her face painfully slow, plucking out those lashes one by one as he gently scraped off her left cornea first, then moving on to the right.
He can almost imagine himself seeing her shed bloody tears as he would carve and gouge her eyes out from their sockets, leaving a hollow socket as dark as the depths of his tainted soul.
He smiled wildly as he attempted to take a strand of the girl's hair to wake her up.
But as soon as his fingers were barely millimeters away from her hair, he froze.
'If she dies, who save you now?'
He abruptly stopped as soon as the thought came to mind. Indeed, if Aki were to die, he would be left with no one to depend on to, at least for the moment now that he is clueless on how to get home.
And considering how Aki was only the somewhat 'trustworthy' person around, he couldn't afford to lose her for now.
At least, until he finds a way to get back.
He forced his dark intentions out of his mind as he glared at the girl; it was somewhat bizarre of him to suddenly wish and imagine Aki dead at the moment.
'Tch. Must be aftermath of unsatisfactory torture.' He concluded as he finally removed the heart from the cloth and placed it across Aki, careful not to stain the book underneath her with blood.
He leaned back and stared at the girl for a moment, checking to see if she would have any reaction, by which sadly, there were none.
His eyes twitched in annoyance. Typical Aki.
He had to restrain every part of his being to stop thinking murderous thoughts and actually torture her— he honestly was very tempted to do so, after vividly imagining the gruesome but beautiful scene he could create with Aki's help.
He stealthily exited the room and headed for the bathroom in the next room, carelessly stripping off his clothes in the process. As soon as he entered the cold shower, he thought that his so-called fantasy would and should be put to action someday.
That is, as soon as he finds a solution to his problem.
Satisfied with that conclusion, he smiled as soon as he felt his good mood seep in his system once again.
In all honesty, ever since his realization of his confusion this morning, his mind has being going haywire.
After a few minutes of cleansing himself, he got out of the shower feeling refreshed and contented.
He picked up his discarded clothes and decided to throw them in the trash bin, feeling too lazy to clean up the blood it has accumulated.
As he lazily walked his way towards the kitchen to finally eat his long-awaited meal. Feitan contentedly plopped himself in his seat and helped himself to hefty servings of rice and tempura— oh yes, he was really starving.
Who wouldn't be, he thought. All he had eaten today was cereal.
And a cup of ramen stolen from the convenience store.
After a few moments of silence, he was finally feeling satisfied with the now clean plates before him, before standing up to clean up his dishes, putting them into the dishwasher.
'At least girl still cooks good' he satisfyingly thought.
As he entered the living room, he was somewhat surprised to find out that there was a big bag placed on top of his pillow— fresh pillows and a comforter, that is.
He let out a contented smile; the girl actually was nice enough to provide him with new beddings, and a bag of food at that.
Well, he assumed that it was food, based on the shape of the packaging.
However, as soon as he neared the package, he momentarily cringed at it, upon seeing Nyan Cat's annoyingly cute face beam up at him.
Chocolate Chip Nyan Cats, how lovely.
He was tempted to immediately throw it away, only to decide once again to keep it for future purposes. Who knows, he thought. He actually might be able to use it on Aki someday.
He tossed it to the side of the couch and laid his head on the pillows, his muscles relaxing at the softness and plumpness of the pillows and comforter.
But before he completely shut down his mind and succumbed to sleep, the last thing he thought about was that no matter how hard he tries to deny it and make himself feel good, the confusion within the deep recesses of his mind still wouldn't cease to ebb away.
Let's break up Aki, you're not good enough for me.
No, Taka wait! I need an explanation why! Why leave me?
I told you, you're not good enough for me. Who would want a plain, old you? There are other girls out there who are far more deserving of my attention and love.
Loving you was a mistake.
You are a mistake.
No, Taka… Wait!
…
Bastard. I was supposed to be the one to break up with you, not the other way around.
Aki's eyes abruptly shot open as soon as the 'her' in the dream said that last line.
However, as fast as how she opened her eyes was the elapsed time for her to let out a high-pitched scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The heart that Feitan got last night was proudly and seemingly beaming before her with all its bloody glory.
It seemed to be smiling at her while saying a mocking 'good morning Aki!'.
Aki screamed once more before her body finally got the reflex to back out and run out of her room, abruptly running down the stairs and murderously heading towards the living room.
Feitan heard the commotion and smirked at how the girl was being hysterical at the moment, and smiled further as soon as he heard her angry footsteps draw closer to his direction.
"FEITAN YOU BASTARD WHAT DID YOU PUT ON MY STUDY TABLE! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! OH GOD I FUCK UURGH—" she was unable to continue her sentence as soon the bile within her system couldn't take it anymore and decided to let themselves out and join in the fun.
Feitan could only wrinkle his nose in disgust as he watched the poor girl empty the contents of her stomach in a gruesome and disgusting way.
He smirked in all his triumph as he watched Aki helplessly run away towards the kitchen to continue her vomiting there, rattled at the thought of getting her carpet dirtied by her own puke.
'I score again. Stupid girl loses this day. Heh.'
If only Feitan knew what mess he has gotten to— oh how wrong his decision was to terrorize Aki with a heart, a body part by which she was diligently studying last night and fell asleep to.
As Aki continued to puke, she could only curse at Feitan over and over again. She felt humiliated and frustrated at how the first thing in the morning she had to see that gruesome little thing.
She actually didn't know how to remove the damn thing from her sight, let alone her study table.
'Fuck I can almost imagine its mitral and tricuspid valve flapping every second. I can even clearly see its aorta smiling creepily at me. The jerk, I swear he's never getting any meals from me from now on. If I have to camp out for the meantime, I'd be more than happy to do so. He can die from starvation in this house for all the hell I care!' she murderously thought as soon as her stomach decided to calm down, letting her clean herself up.
She attempted to calm herself first before heading towards her room, not giving Feitan even one look, to the surprise of the latter.
She seemed to not be letting out a tantrum today, he thought.
Aki continued to stomp her way up the stairs and hurriedly got ready, not daring to look at the direction of her study table even once. She even had to shut her eyes tightly and get the book after making sure that her hands knew where the direction of the books were.
As soon as she retrieved her books, she proceeded to stuff her bags with important things—
Her books, some clothes, her wallet with all her credit cards and some cash, her toiletry bag meant for traveling, as well as some of her favorite plush toys. She briefly glanced at her now dusty electric guitar bag and momentarily stared at it for a moment, before finally deciding to bring it too, complete with its cord, spare strings, and an ample amount of guitar picks.
After getting ready, she proceeded down the stairs, not uttering a word as she stomped her way out of the house, leaving an amused and somewhat curious Feitan.
'Stupid girl can't seem to take it well' he smugly thought as he proceeded to go to the kitchen to eat an unsatisfactory bowl of cereal once again. He briefly thought on how he would attempt to threaten her as soon as she got home tonight, for her to cook a meal good for breakfast so that he wouldn't have to make do with such an unappetizing meal.
That is, if Aki does come home.
A/N: Oh poor Feitan, if only you knew…
Isella of the wolf tribe: Yay! Glad I made you laugh hihi :`) I hope I gave you some sufficient Feitaki for now though. XD
simpleliza27: Fufu sometime soon~ Probably when Momo finally sees something in Feitan that is worth trusting. XD I believe that they will somehow acknowledge each other soon though, that is, if Aki does try to chip in and make them have a truce. And thank you so much for the wonderful review~! ^-^
Chiikaboom: Aww yay! I am glad. Indeed, haha I personally loved how Momo acted hysterical and all. *u* I hope I was able to properly introduce to y'guys the new arc~~~ n-n
SilverSapphire34523: True! She's kinda like my crack character. Jk XD
Ruby720: Fufufu me too~~ I'd love to see Feitan torture Taka though (serves him right!). Ah, it shall depend on whether he'll get any closer to Aki as opposed to their current level of relationship. XD Aww and thank you so much, I really am honored! ^_^ To be honest, it was really nerve-wrecking for me to have Feitan OOC. Gawd, I don't want to risk him being that… I might get stabbed by Feitan-sama. T~T Fufufu~ Taka will explain himself soon enough. *u*
Comments, reviews, suggestions, criticisms and whatnot are very much accepted and highly appreciated, thank you!